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Thanks For now I'm just going to let it fill in. When I get tired of trimming the stems I might pull the ones out on the left side and just keep the shorter plants, sort of a mixed carpet. I'm also keeping my eye out for a few nice stones since I had to take all my other ones out.

It's very pretty and healthy you have done a great job! Any plans for changes or just letting it grow in?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Thanks For now I'm just going to let it fill in. When I get tired of trimming the stems I might pull the ones out on the left side and just keep the shorter plants, sort of a mixed carpet. I'm also keeping my eye out for a few nice stones since I had to take all my other ones out.

05-22-2013 08:39 PM

NWA-Planted

Re: 135 gallon community

It's very pretty and healthy you have done a great job! Any plans for changes or just letting it grow in?

Thank you! I'm actually pretty proud of this tank as it stands now, especially considering I could barely keep anything alive not all that long ago.

05-22-2013 08:26 PM

rocksmom

Finally was able to get a good picture of this tank using my phone instead of my regular camera. Here's how it looks today (ignore the floating cabomba, it escaped after the last trim/replant):

I changed a few things since the last photo. Added some s. repens, a little DHG belem, moved some things around, and took out the pennywort. I also switched to PPS-Pro instead of EI since my lights aren't very bright. All I was doing was wasting a ton of ferts with EI. I still need a midground plant to place behind the s. repens.

04-29-2013 10:44 PM

rustbucket

Looking really nice

04-29-2013 09:20 PM

rocksmom

This tank has undergone quite the change. After experiencing high TDS, rust marks, and some weird stuff growing on the rocks I decided to pull them out. I replanted the tank yesterday with some stuff that was already in there, some I bought a while ago from OVT, and some I got from a LFS. Not sure how everything will do, so I'm anticipating some tweaking over the next few weeks. I also have some s. repens coming for the foreground.

Here it is as of this morning:

It's not as dark as it looks in the picture, but I'm still not sure if I have enough light for some of the plants (I'm looking at you cabomba). Right now the lighting consists of two 36" T5HOs and two 30" Fugerays.

The only thing I don't really like right now is the pennywort. It looks a little... messy I guess. Plus it's kind of shading the stems below it. I'll probably pull it out and keep it in my lower light tanks.

04-08-2013 08:49 PM

rocksmom

It's been over a month since I did an update on this tank, so I figured it was time. Quite a bit has changed since then, including it no longer being low tech. I wouldn't exactly call it high tech either. I changed the two 30" FugeRays out for two single 36" T5HO fixtures. The bulbs they came with are a little yellow for my taste when compared with the leds, but I can't justify buying new bulbs yet when these are brand new. There are also some tannins from the wood so that contributes to the yellow appearance. I plan on getting some purigen for the filter the next time it's cleaned.

I also added co2. I found a good deal on a used Aquatek regulator with a 20 lb tank so I figured why not. I don't have it on very high, only 2-3 bps. Last time I checked the kh/ph chart had it around 20 ppm. The only thing I don't like is that the bps doesn't stay consistent. It seems to gradually speed up over a few days time so I have to keep checking on it. My GLA one on the other hand is like clockwork. I definitely wouldn't mind upgrading in the future if the price was right.

Because of the addition of co2 I also started dosing dry fertilizers. I've been dosing roughly half of what regular EI dosing would be for a tank this size. I use the 60-80 gallon measurements. After about a week of this the plants seem happy. The pennywort is the easiest to tell the difference with since it's such a fast grower. Before the leaves were coming in very pale with dark veins which I know is a deficiency, but I can't think which one offhand. They're now coming in a nice solid green.

I added quite a few plants since the last photos. There is a red tiger lotus, the pennywort, more crypts, and a bunch of sag (not sure what kind, it was about 10-12" or so when I got it, but I trimmed back most of the original leaves since the tips turned brown after planting). Also took out the riccia rocks. Just didn't like how they looked.

FTS:

Left side:

Middle:

Right side:

Plans:

Add some vals and/or stems in the open areas along the back.

Possibly add a carpet in the front. Maybe glosso?

Still need to change out that white spray bar.

Try to get the pennywort to climb on the wood.

03-05-2013 11:22 AM

cah925

Give it time and have patience, it has potential to be exciting. Several years ago I had a 125 gal scape. I played with it for weeks just before I left for my internship out of state. I was gone 3 months and was blown away by the growth I saw when I got back.

Thanks! Unfortunately the small ones you see in there are the "medium" ones. They should have been called extra small, small, and huge. Haha. I even called up the landscaping place and the three sizes I got were the only ones they have.

that looks really nice. It has a very calm, soothing effect, must really be an asset to your room

Thank you, and yes, it is a nice fit for the bedroom. It's not a super exciting scape like you see a lot on here, but it's nice at nice with the moonlights on.

03-05-2013 02:19 AM

rustbucket

that looks really nice. It has a very calm, soothing effect, must really be an asset to your room

03-05-2013 12:58 AM

apfunk

Nice rocks! Maybe add some more medium sized ones though.

03-05-2013 12:33 AM

rocksmom

We did some more work on the tank this weekend. Got (most) of the ferns attached to the wood. One piece came loose after we'd already refilled the tank so it's going to have to wait until next time. Rearranged the crypts some and added the new ones around the smaller rocks. Also stocked the tank as you can see if the photos. There are cardinals, black neon tetras, purple passion/rose danios, and panda cories.

FTS:

Left side:

Right side:

You can see the riccia starting to grow on the rocks. It's poking up through the mesh. The new crypts from Petsmart are looking pretty sad. Very pale and lots of dead/slimy leaves I had to pull off, but the roots looked good for the most part. Hopefully they do okay.

Just bought a plant package off of the SnS today that included some c. retrospiralis so those will be going in the back when they get here. I'll probably leave it like that for awhile, but I would like to find a good deal on a bunch of anubias and add it to the wood and rocks. Also thinking about taking the fissidens off the wood and attaching it the rocks instead. Not loving it on the end of the wood like that.

Probably going to have to upgrade the lights soon. The two I have on there don't span the entire tank so there is a dark area in the center. The best option would probably be to get two more fixtures and have two on each side. The tank is pretty wide (is that the right dimension? from front to back... ) for just one. When the fish swim near the front glass it's pretty dark.